The 2010 Miss New York Teen winner has a Queens zip code.
Thatiana Diaz, 17, a senior at St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows, recently took home this year’s crown and will represent New York in the national competition in 2010.
“I felt like I was dreaming,” said the soft-spoken Bayside teenager. “It was unreal. I was telling myself to wake up.”
Unlike many contestants, Diaz is somewhat new to pageants. She entered the Miss New York Teen competition two years ago and finished in the Top 25, but this year was only her second pageant overall.
“This year she wanted to do it again before she went to college,” said Katty Diaz, Thatiana’s mother, who accompanied her daughter to the contest the week after Thanksgiving. “It was more just a fun thing.”
During the competition, which was held at the Crowne Plaza in Albany, NY, Diaz competed against other contestants in a swimsuit, evening gown and personal interview categories. When Thatiana made it into the top 10 and then top 5, both mother and daughter were surprised.
However, that surprise quickly turned to shock as the judges announced that Thatiana
was this year’s winner.
“She fell out of her chair, and she screamed really, really loud,” Thatiana said about her mother Katty’s reaction to her winning.
“I lost it,” said Katty, who talked about all of the judges coming up to her and telling how impressed they were by her daughter.
When Katty finally got over to the stage to congratulate Thatiana, the two shared a few special words with each other.
“She leaned over and gave me a hug and said, ‘mommy we did it,’” recalled Katty, who told Thatiana that it was all about her.
Now, Thatiana, who plans to attend college next year with Fordham University as her first choice, can start preparing for the national competition where winners from the 49 other states will compete for the national crown. She is already meeting with a nutritionist for the national contest, and she has a number of charity events on her schedule.
Although Thatiana has not been participating in pageants for a long time and she does have plans to attend college after graduating from St. Francis Prep, she wants to keep modeling and entering pageants.
“I actually fell in love with it,” Thatiana said.
